As fiber optic technology continues along its evolutionary path, there are occasional quantum technological advances. These advances break new ground and pave the way for new commercial applications. However, the technology is maturing, and the evolutionary thrust is now directed to refinements to existing fiber optic products. Recent improvements have led to advantages such as better optical transmission to reduced manufacturing costs.
An exemplary device which was developed to reduce manufacturing costs is the optical receptacle cover. Receptacle covers are attached to receptacles to prevent the entry of dust and debris (such as excess solder) during the assembly process.
Otherwise, when a plug is inserted in the receptacle, the presence of dust and debris can impede the alignment of the converging optical fibers. Anything less than perfect alignment may render the optical connection inoperative.
The conventional dust cover has been further refined. A rearwardly extending tab has been added to serve as a grip. This allows machinery or technicians to manipulate the receptacle more easily during the assembly process. When an active optical device has been inserted into the receptacle, the tab provides a means for holding the receptacle against a circuit board while the terminals of the active device are soldered to the conductive tracks of the board. The cover is simply removed when it is time to insert a mating plug.
Another key objective of efforts at furthering fiber optic technology is increasing the reliability of the resulting optical system. Efforts toward this end have focussed on developing safeguards to insure the quality of the optical components which go into a system and to insure the integrity of the assembly process. Transmission accuracy can be increased and signal losses reduced by maintaining a more precise alignment of the active optical device within the receptacle throughout the assembly process. Traditionally, this was accomplished only by sacrificing the ease of assembly of the receptacle. It would be far more convenient to employ the above-described receptacle cover for yet another purpose, namely, to maintain the proper alignment of the active optical device.